Irkabtum

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Irkabtum
Great King of Yamhad
ReignMiddle 17th century BC. Middle chronology
PredecessorNiqmi-Epuh
SuccessorHammurabi II

Irkabtum (reigned c. Middle 17th century BC - Middle chronology) was the king of Yamhad (Halab), succeeding his father Niqmi-Epuh.[1]

Reign[edit]

Irkabtum is referred to in an old Hittite letter fragment,[2] but he is known primarily through the Alalakh tablets. He engaged in the selling and buying of cities and villages with his vassal king Ammitakum of Alalakh in order to adjust the shared borders between them,[3] and he campaigned in the region of Nashtarbi east of the Euphrates river, against the Hurrian princes who rebelled against Yamhad.[4] The campaign was an important one in that it was used to date legal cases.[5]

Irkabtum is known to have concluded a peace treaty with Semuma, the king of the Habiru, on behalf of his vassal kingdom Alalakh, indicating the importance and danger of those autonomous warriors in the region.[6]

Death and succession[edit]

Irkabtum could be the father of Yarim-Lim III.[7] He died and was succeeded by Hammurabi II whose filiation is unknown.[7]

King Irkabtum of Yamhad (Halab)
Regnal titles
Preceded by Great King of Yamhad
1675 – BC
Succeeded by

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Douglas Frayne. Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 BC). p. 794.
  2. ^ Erich Ebeling; Bruno Meissner; Ernst Weidner; Dietz Otto Edzard. Reallexikon D Assyriologie. p. 164.
  3. ^ Erich Ebeling; Bruno Meissner; Ernst Weidner; Dietz Otto Edzard. Reallexikon D Assyriologie. p. 164.
  4. ^ Akadémiai Kiadó. Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. p. 7+27.
  5. ^ Donald John Wiseman. The Alalakh tablets. p. 43.
  6. ^ George E. Mendenhall; Herbert Bardwell Huffmon; Frank A. Spina; Alberto Ravinell Whitney Green. The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E. Mendenhall. p. 200.
  7. ^ a b wilfred van soldt. Akkadica, Volumes 111-120. p. 105.